


The Kissing Chronicles

by love_killed_the_superstar



Series: But Beautiful We Three Are [4]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Alternate Universe - Human, F/F, First Kiss, Hogwarts Fifth Year, Multi, Polyamory, pearlshipping bomb, polypearls, polypearls bomb, there's more of an emphasis on blue/yellow this chapter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-06
Updated: 2016-07-06
Packaged: 2018-07-22 00:35:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7411436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/love_killed_the_superstar/pseuds/love_killed_the_superstar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>4. Kisses were supposed to be something exciting, like a rock candy in your mouth, or a giggle bubbling up from an inappropriate joke, or the endorphins from riding a rollercoaster as it swooped over the edge. At least, that was what Blue had always thought.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Kissing Chronicles

**Author's Note:**

> So I didn't upload this until now because I was at a spa day with my mom and sister all day, so it's actually taken me a really long time to get this done. Not to mention it's like twice the length of what it was supposed to be!! Crap.  
> I actually decided this chapter would come before the valentines day chapter just so that they could be a fully established relationship for that. So this came first instead, the awkward working-things-through stage.

Kisses were supposed to be something exciting, like a rock candy in your mouth, or a giggle bubbling up from an inappropriate joke, or the endorphins from riding a rollercoaster as it swooped over the edge. At least, that was what Blue had always thought. When it came to kissing Yellow on that fateful day last December, there was no rock candy sweetness, no crude humour, no rollercoaster swoop. There were butterflies, of course, and a sinking feeling, all at once.

But truthfully, she didn't think much of it. Maybe she should have considered it more seriously, but it had happened so suddenly, in an ordinary moment, so it felt strangely ordinary. If she'd described it to her older sister, Lapis, she would have dismissed it as a 'friend kiss'. Because that's just what girls did, right? Well, girls that didn't like other girls that way.

But she wasn't so sure anymore. It wasn't like it really mattered to her – she didn't get upset about it like Pearl allegedly had been for some time (Yellow sorted out the graffiti artists teasing Pearl with a jelly-legs jinx, and ended up with three weeks of detention scrubbing cauldrons for it, but if Pearl was happier for it she'd confided in Blue that she'd do it again in a heartbeat). It was just something she'd never given much thought to – when applied to herself, anyway. But her and Yellow had been inseparable since they were small, even before Pearl's family had moved in next door, so it hadn't felt weird, per say. Just... comfortable.

Kisses weren't supposed to be comfortable yet, were they? Wasn't it supposed to be like fireworks and cotton candy until they grew old and married? Maybe romcoms and YA novels had been lying to Blue for all these years.

 

…

 

Her first kiss with Pearl was more of the exciting sort.

In the June of her fourth year, and towards the end of Pearl's third, a lazy Saturday afternoon was spent lounging by the lake on a picnic blanket, dipping toes in and out of the icy waters, working on easy homework assignments and drinking from the same bottle of butterbeer Blue had strained from The Three Broomsticks into an empty coke bottle earlier that day (what could she say, she loved the stuff). Having already finished her assignments, Blue was flicking through an illustrated copy of 'Hogwarts: A History'. Once again, the Ravenclaw house colours had been lost in translation, and she tutted in annoyance as her fingertips ghosted over an illustration of a pretty student whose tie was incorrectly coloured.

“Let me guess, they got the colours wrong again,” Pearl said with a smile, not even glancing up from her parchment.

“What a brilliant deduction. Was it really that obvious?” Blue asked playfully, slamming shut the book and lying back, head nestling itself against Pearl's shoulder.

“You always tut when Ravenclaw colours are misrepresented. I learned to pick up on the signs.”

“What a smart girl. So attentive to my needs.”

Blue stared up at the sky, an intense blue, with rolling clouds and dazzling sun, and then turned to look at Pearl. Ivory skin was framed by short, neat curls around her chin, and her pale blue eyes were focused, losing themselves in the words spilling from her quill and onto the yellowed parchment. The breeze ruffled her hair slightly, showing off a sliver of her creamy jawline, and she caught the faintest scent of perfume. Blue decided in a heartbeat which was more pleasant to look at.

“You're beautiful,” she breathed, and Pearl's quill snagged on the parchment immediately as she jerked up, coral blush already crawling up to her cheeks.

“I-I... um, I, thank you, Blue, but really, I'm not...”

“You aren't allowed to say you're not beautiful,” Blue interrupted. She folded her arms and rested her head against them, looking up at Pearl through the gaps of her bangs. “Because of course you don't want to admit aloud that you know you're beautiful. But other people can say that, and you're supposed to let them.”

“I've never been good at letting people do what they want when it concerns me, I'm afraid,” Pearl said with a shrug, blush still evident on her face. There was a blotch of ink on her parchment, and she pushed it away to dry out the spot, hoping it wouldn't be too noticeable once it had dried. She lay down beside Blue, stretching out. “I can't handle it when people compliment me for my looks. Something about it feels like they're lying to me, no matter how sincere.”

“Pearl, you are every bit as beautiful as all the beautiful things around us,” Blue said seriously, scanning over the way the light hit her large nose, settled in her hair. “You're like... sunlight. It's a beauty unappreciated most of the time. But when you let yourself wander, learn to really look, you admire it. You realise how important it is to your life.” She reached over to pluck a stray blade of grass from Pearl's hair, tangling a finger in it. “You're important to my life.”

Pearl's gaze flickered from the sky to search Blue's face for what had brought this on, and her eyes were intense, pooling uncertainty and adoration that seeped into her telling expression.

“Where's this coming from?” she asked in a near whisper, a hum above the breeze and the nearby crickets.

“My heart,” Blue said honestly, and she was overpowered by the urge to kiss Pearl and completely lose herself in the moment of summer happiness, new starts, blooming love. So she did just that.

It was bubbly, tasting of butterbeer and the vanilla lip balm Pearl wore all year round, and it was soft, slightly chapped, and overall pleasantly confusing. It was definitely more exciting than her kiss with Yellow, which was more muddled and cosy than anything. This was new, and bold and made warmth pool in the pit of her stomach. She was pressed right up against Pearl, and her quickening heartbeat was undeniable.

When she pulled away, drawing up for air, Pearl was staring at her, face a bright pink and her eyes wide and disbelieving.

“You,” she accused, breathless. “...What...?”

“That came from my heart too...” Blue flopped back again, giggling helplessly. “Sorry, Pearl, I'm not teasing you, I swear, just... wow. It came from a sincere place.”

“I, uh... I'm not complaining.” Pearl was still beet red, and she squeezed her eyes shut. “But, I thought you and Yellow... you know...”

“Oh, me and Yellow _are_ thinking of getting together,” Blue agreed cheerfully. She was still giggling from the giddy pleasure of it all. “But she likes you, and I like you. And she told me you like both of us.”

“She said that?!” Pearl bolted upright, face even redder than before. “I-I... that was supposed to be a secret!”

“But the three of us are a package deal. You can't keep secrets from one but not the other, it's not how we work,” protested Blue. “But it's not like Yellow would mind. Maybe she'd be mad that we were kissing while she's stuck in a Saturday detention, but...”

“Sheesh!” Pearl buried her face in her hands. “We're not even going to question how weird this is, that we're even having this conversation right now?”

Blue stifled another giggle and reached for Pearl's hands, gently tugging them away from her face.

“I don't need to question it. I like it.”

 

…

 

Being the spectator to a kiss was equally as exciting.

That summer had been a wet and unpredictable few months of rain and sunshine on and off, like the flick of a wand. This was apparent in the first week back in the September, as Pearl was entering her fourth year and Blue and Yellow found themselves in the fifth. They had been caught up in a strange storm after another lakeside rendezvous, catching all three of them off guard, and by the time they had hurried to huddle under the nearest sheltered stone covering in the castle, they were soaked through to the skin.

“Holy shit,” Yellow said with a shudder, watching as the sky continued to heave the clouds' contents onto the unsuspecting grounds below. “It's really pissing it down.”

“You're t-telling me,” Pearl said through chattering teeth, always so sensitive to the cold. “It was so sunny a few minutes ago, I'm getting really tired of this.”

Yellow turned to compliment Pearl's statement with another witty remark about the unfortunate circumstances, but stopped short and burst out laughing. Pearl, clearly confused, bleated, “What? What's so funny? Yellow?”

Blue pushed her soaked bangs up and away from her eyes, squinting a little as water from her heavily matted fringe threatened to prick her eyes, and once she saw what Yellow was laughing at, she snorted too despite herself, sending Pearl whirling round in betrayal.

“Your face, Pearl,” Yellow gasped, bending over from the force of her laughter. “Fuck, check out your face!”

Pearl reached into her robe pocket for a compact mirror, and upon seeing her reflection, recoiled in a mixture of shock and horror. For whatever stupid reason, she'd decided to experiment with mascara on this particular day, and it had come back to haunt her in the form of black snail tracks, trailing down from her eyes onto her cheeks.

“I look like something from a horror film,” she squeaked, going to wipe. Instead, the edge of her robe only smeared it further across her cheeks, and Yellow only hooted harder. Pearl blushed and frowned at Yellow and Blue, both of which were giggling uncontrollably. “You're terrible to me! Nice friends would help me clean up!”

“You're a riot, Pearl,” snorted Yellow. She straightened up, and then walked over to Pearl, pushing wet clumps of strawberry blonde hair away from her face. She thumbed away mascara residue from Pearl's cheeks, wiping her fingers on her robes with disdain. Her eyes flickered back to Pearl, who was still dabbing at her eyes, and she gently took her face in her hands.

“You really are ridiculous,” she concluded. “Who wears mascara that isn't even waterproof on a crappy day like this?”

Before Pearl had time to argue, Yellow leaned down and kissed her firmly, patiently. Pearl made a surprised sound in the back of her throat, but made no move to pull away, and Blue's breath hitched. She felt strangely warm watching the two of them go at it, something she had similarly felt when she had kissed Pearl in the summer. Was this love? Was this the excitement felt between girls who wanted to date? Or was it simply the sight of Yellow and Pearl, who had always had conflicting personalities, in such an intimate state?

“Woah,” breathed Pearl the moment they pulled away.

Yellow shifted awkwardly from foot to foot, finally barking out, “Well, we're all dating now, aren't we?! Both of us have kissed Blue. I thought... you know, maybe if we kissed, the three of us would be less uncomfortable about the arrangement!”

She folded her arms and turned away, blushing a creamy rouge. Pearl, also pretty flustered, hastily reached to squeeze her shoulder.

“Hey,” she murmured. “Uh... thanks. I mean, I really liked it, so. Um.”

Yellow sighed irritably and reached over, bringing both Blue and Pearl into a tight embrace.

“You clods. You know that you aren't supposed to praise a kiss.”

“You know you love it,” teased Pearl, and Blue fell into step easily beside them as they walked back up towards the library, grinning from ear to ear.

 

…

 

Blue decided that if it really was love, the best solution would be to recreate the kiss to see if anything had changed between herself and Yellow. They'd both felt sparks kissing Pearl, and she had felt those same sparks watching the two of her girlfriends kiss (or she was assuming they were official at that point; it remained to be seen still, since Pearl was still uncomfortable throwing the idea around). It seemed logical that she would feel these same intense butterflies if she kissed Yellow after the year of trying to figure out what it all meant. So when December of their fifth year rolled around, and snow covered the grounds like blankets of the finest silk, Blue knew she had to act.

She had confided the idea to Pearl a few weeks before, and she had been in support of it, if not a little embarrassed that her tantrum last year prevented Yellow and Blue from talking about it sooner. So the first weekend of December, Blue formally invited Yellow on a date around Hogsmeade.

...Well, perhaps not formally.

“So why couldn't Pearl come with us today?” Yellow asked with a heavily knitted brow as they drifted towards The Three Broomsticks, hoping to warm up. “She looked like she was hiding something.”

“Um. Cramps,” Blue said immediately, wondering if her story would fly. Yellow scoffed.

“Yeah, right. Her period has been synced with ours for years and you know it. The real reason, please.” A thought occurred to her and she whirled around to face Blue, suspicion written all over her face. “Wait, she isn't thinking of rejoining the Crystal Gems, is she?! She's with Rose, isn't she?”

“No, no, she's not, I promise,” Blue gabbled, back pedalling immediately.

It was no secret that Yellow still held bitter feelings towards Rose Quartz and Garnet Aberra, along with the rest of the duelling club, even though Pearl had ended up quitting shortly after the two of them had talked over Christmas and sorted their drama out. Even so, Yellow was constantly suspicious of Pearl rejoining, dreading the idea of having to drag her back out again, and she was prepared to nip it in the bud as soon as possible.

“I bet she is. Damn it. We always tell her that Rose is no good for her, but does she ever listen?!”

“Yellow, she's not with Rose Quartz,” Blue repeated, now slightly frustrated. “She's just catching up with an assignment and doesn't want to admit she's behind. Come on, forget about the duelling club, I'm freezing. Can you get us some butterbeer?”

“Fine, but you're paying,” Yellow said, holding out her hand expectantly. Blue turned out her coin purse and dropped a few sickles and a galleon into Yellow's hand.

“Pick up the rest if there's still outstanding change, all right?”

“Fine, cheapskate,” Yellow countered, before turning and heading to the bar to order. Blue slipped into the trio's signature booth and waited, heart pounding in her chest. It was going to be fine. All she had to do was discreetly kiss Yellow over drinks, simple as that. The students around them were too caught up in their own lives to notice two wallflowers kissing in a tiny booth at the back of the pub, that was for sure.

Still, when Yellow returned with the drinks a few minutes later, Blue was a bundle of nerves.

“So I ran into Rose Quartz at the bar, amazingly,” Yellow said dryly, sliding a butterbeer towards Blue. “So I told her to stay the fuck away from Pearl.”

“For the last time, Pearl isn't interested in rejoining!” Blue said, rolling her eyes in exasperation. “And I hope you weren't too rude to her. I don't much care for her either, but at least be civil since she's been decent enough not to bother Pearl these days.”

“Well, she took my warning to heart, anyway,” Yellow finished, looking pleased with herself. “I'm glad. She's so used to getting what she wants, I thought she'd put up more of a fight.”

“Please leave it be now.”

Blue began to drink, savouring the sugary warmth of her beverage, and watched Yellow from over her pint glass. Yellow was taking periodic sips, glancing between Blue and the bar, where Rose Quartz was sat conversing with Garnet Aberra. Their heads were awfully close together, and Blue wondered why they never got any mean comments for being one of the power couples of the sixth year while people still whispered about Pearl behind her back from time to time simply for things they assumed but knew nothing about. It took half a brain to know how kind and passionate and strong Pearl was, and yet people used that half a brain instead to come up with new and cruel ways to mock her behind her back for something as trivial as who she liked. It was bad enough one of her girlfriends had to put up with constant scrutiny over her orientation – if Yellow ever had to deal with something like that, Blue wasn't sure how she'd manage.

“You're thinking the same thing I am, aren't you?” Yellow's voice cut through Blue's thoughts. “You're thinking, why do they get to be close and affectionate and openly gay, and we don't. Right?”

Blue blinked, and nodded slowly. “I suppose.”

“It's stupid. People should like who they want. And it shouldn't be anyone else's business, anyway.”

“I wonder if anyone would care if they knew about us,” Blue wondered aloud. “I mean, really care. We're quiet people; we keep to ourselves, mostly.”

Yellow snorted. “You're serious? We'd be the talk of the school, Blue – we're a polyamorous lesbian trifecta. We'd be legends in a day.”

Blue giggled.

“You say that like it's a bad thing.”

Yellow cracked a wan smile, and took another sip of her butterbeer. Blue leaned a little closer, her nerves getting the best of her. The moment Yellow's lips left the glass, Blue's mouth was on hers in a heartbeat.

Their kiss lasted the better half of two seconds, before Yellow pushed her away, spluttering and choking. Fizz came shooting out of her nose, and she gagged, throat and nose burning.

“Blue, what the fuck?!” Yellow coughed, reaching for a napkin to blow her nose with. A few curious heads turned, having only witnessed the part where Yellow hacked out butterbeer onto the table, and a few giggles rolled around The Three Broomsticks. Blue pouted and turned away, pretty disappointed by the outcome.

“I was trying to kiss you. You didn't say that when _Pearl_   kissed you.”

“That was _different,_ I kissed her, and – and anyway, you just kissed me before I'd even finished my drink! I could've died, you know!”

Yellow coughed again pitifully, and Blue frowned.

“Sorry I'm such a bad kisser I made you choke on butterbeer. It's kind of hard to be good at it when I don't have any experience.”

Yellow dabbed at her mouth, her breathing finally having returned to normal, and she stared.

“Wait, are you seriously trying to suggest it's my fault you almost made me choke to death on this shitty drink because I don't kiss you enough? Sorry for being a reserved person who doesn't go around snogging in the library like every heterosexual in this damn school!”

Blue stood up. “Look, just forget it. I'm going back, I'll see you later.”

She'd barely taken five steps out the door when Yellow grabbed her arm.

“Blue, what the hell? Don't just leave me there! What's your problem, for real?!”

“You've never kissed me!” Blue snapped, slipping her arm from Yellow's grip and continuing to walk, refusing to look back at her. “Besides that one time. And I didn't even feel anything that time, Yellow, how do you think that makes me feel? You say we're dating but – but you don't even want to kiss me, I've seen you kiss Pearl at least three times since September, but you haven't kissed me since last December and I just want to know why!”

Yellow stopped short, wide-eyed.

“Blue... Shit, Blue, I...”

“Was it not exciting for you either? Are we really not compatible? We've known each other the longest. I thought, I don't know, it would be better like that somehow!”

“Blair Bermet, will you just listen to me?!”

Blue froze. Slowly, she turned.

“Did you just call me Blair?”

“I don't know how else to get your attention when you're like this,” grumbled Yellow. She stared down at the ground sheepishly. “Look. I... I know I haven't kissed you since then. I just, when I think about what happened the last time we kissed... it got really awkward.” She groaned, and palmed her face. “Like, really awkward. I never knew the right time to try it out again. I _know_ I like you, Blue. I don't think kissing is the only way to express that you love someone.”

“I don't think that either!” protested Blue. “I just... wanted to recreate that first time. To see if things had really changed between us.”

“Well, they have. For better, I hope.” Yellow eyed her warily. “I don't really feel like shopping anymore. Lets go back.”

Blue began to lead the way, the silence hanging over her like a cartoon storm cloud. She'd been acting silly about all this, and now Yellow had gotten hurt as a result. How could she have been so foolish? Yellow was a shy person, even if she hid it beneath a brash, prickly exterior, so of course she was just trying to be considerate of Blue and their friendship. And Blue had gone and spoiled it.

Her eyes stung, and she was glad her shaggy hair hid her eyes from Yellow. The last thing she wanted was for Yellow to feel responsible for that too.

As they trudged through the silent courtyard, alone with the bitterly cold winter air, Yellow stopped in her tracks suddenly.

“Blue.”

Blue turned, expecting a snowball to the face at best and another harsh word at the worst. What she didn't expect was for Yellow to take a few controlled strides towards her, grab her by the waist and _dip_ her.

“Yellow, wh-”

Yellow bent down with her, and their lips met.

There they were. The fireworks, the chords that played at the end of a really good power ballad, and her heart turned. One of the best things about Yellow was just how sweet she could be, when she wasn't trying to be an asshole. Their kiss didn't last long, because the cold made it almost impossible to stay still for too long, but when they parted, it felt like hours had passed, and Blue's heart _still_ hadn't quite calmed down.

Yellow brought her back up and eyed her critically. “So? How was it?”

Oh, too good, you spitfire.

“Well, I heard the bells, if that was what you were wondering,” Blue said, her lips turning up into a smile. She reached for Yellow's hand and squeezed. “Thank you for being so patient with me.”

“Well, if I didn't put up with you, who would?” grumbled Yellow, but she was smiling the next time Blue glanced up at her.

They waded back to the castle without another word. Nothing else needed to be said.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Polyamorous Lesbian Trifecta has a nice ring to it, don't you think? The ending is a bit rushed and I apologise, but it's already almost the end of the 6th in my time (GMT) so... I wanted to get it up asap.  
> As usual pls let me know if you like!! Next time will be the valentines day one i promise


End file.
